Might have to do a water pump

Sniper X · Post by **Sniper X** » Oct 28, 2008 6:29 PM

So is it a total bitch to do a water pump on a `985 535i?

I might either have a stuck thermo or need to do a water pump on one of my fives.

a · Post by a » Oct 28, 2008 6:33 PM

If you dont shear off a bolt, the water pump on an M30 is pretty straight forward.

stuartinmn · Post by **stuartinmn** » Oct 28, 2008 8:02 PM

It's really pretty simple. You need a big skinny wrench to get the fan off (it's reverse thread) but otherwise there's not much to it. I'd check the thermostat first - you're more likely to shear off a bolt there, so be careful when removing the bolts.

JoshInAtlanta · Post by **JoshInAtlanta** » Oct 28, 2008 9:34 PM

a wrote:If you dont shear off a bolt, the water pump on an M30 is pretty straight forward.

Argh... the reason my car was off the road all summer.

msunkenberg · Post by **msunkenberg** » Oct 29, 2008 9:22 AM

i did this not too long ago and it was pretty easy.

my biggest problem was bleeding the cooling system because the bleeder opening had corroded over. I used something similar to a sewing machine needle (saxophone needle spring) to unclog it.

shagrath · Post by **shagrath** » Oct 29, 2008 10:00 AM

stuartinmn wrote:It's really pretty simple. You need a big skinny wrench to get the fan off (it's reverse thread) but otherwise there's not much to it. I'd check the thermostat first - you're more likely to shear off a bolt there, so be careful when removing the bolts.

32mm- $25

Sniper X · Post by **Sniper X** » Oct 29, 2008 10:54 AM

Shoot, any body have a water pump wrench I can borrow? I'd be glad to pay shipping....

Son of a · Post by **Son of a** » Oct 29, 2008 11:05 AM

Sniper X wrote:Shoot, any body have a water pump wrench I can borrow? I'd be glad to pay shipping....

You need to have the ability to take the fan off. That means a 32mm wrench to do it right, or some other method that you can live with. (Big channel-locks are a less elegant solution.)

For about the cost of shipping the wrench, you can go out and buy one. It doesn't need to be super-quality, all you use it for is to get purchase on the fan nut and maybe generate a few ft.-lbs. of torque.

Craftsman 32 mm. is about $25 at Sears, so I imagine a made in China Wal-Mart version would be about $15.

Once you have the fan off, changing a water pump is no big deal. I seem to remember more than a few people, who were more than a little drunk, changing one on an M5 in Chattanooga in '07.

ChipinPA · Post by **ChipinPA** » Oct 29, 2008 11:20 AM

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... number=541

If you have one local - then u save shipping

Sniper X · Post by **Sniper X** » Oct 29, 2008 11:47 AM

Shoot, if a regular 32mm wrench will work I can get one at HF for like 5 bucks! I thought it had to be real skiny or flat instead of a regular wrench.

ChipinPA · Post by **ChipinPA** » Oct 29, 2008 1:36 PM

Not too bad of a job - and a good time to drain all of your coolant and get all fresh in there. Block drain is up in the exhaust manifold area - near to the #5 cyl.

Chris

Sixdown · Post by **Sixdown** » Oct 29, 2008 1:57 PM

Just a note.
All of the 32mm wrenched I could find in my local hardware stores were not thin enough to fit the fan nut. I had to improvise with thinner channel locks. This was on my late model B35.

shagrath · Post by **shagrath** » Oct 29, 2008 2:07 PM

Sixdown wrote:Just a note.
All of the 32mm wrenched I could find in my local hardware stores were not thin enough to fit the fan nut. I had to improvise with thinner channel locks. This was on my late model B35.

The thicker ones are a bitch, but they work.

Sniper X · Post by **Sniper X** » Oct 29, 2008 2:36 PM

stikrz wrote:
Sixdown wrote:Just a note.
All of the 32mm wrenched I could find in my local hardware stores were not thin enough to fit the fan nut. I had to improvise with thinner channel locks. This was on my late model B35.
The thicker ones are a bitch, but they work.

Shoot, Ill buy a cheapo and grind it on both sides..that'll make is easier huh?

stuartinmn · Post by **stuartinmn** » Oct 29, 2008 4:27 PM

If you have a bike shop handy, go there and look at their Park Tools selection. I think mine is a HCW-6 headset wrench, it's nice and skinny and was pretty cheap. http://www.parktool.com/

baldwin8 · Post by **baldwin8** » Oct 30, 2008 3:34 AM

BTW a 1-1/4" wrench will do just fine if you don't have a 32mm, worked for me.

wkohler · Post by **wkohler** » Oct 30, 2008 4:41 AM

The water pump pliers work fine, too. That's all I had at 5er Fest.

ismellfish2 · Post by **ismellfish2** » Oct 30, 2008 10:02 AM

You can buy a whole set of cheap bike wrenches from Harbor Freight or Northern Tool, and they come in handy from time to time.

Mike W. · Post by **Mike W.** » Oct 31, 2008 12:36 AM

I seem to be the only one, but my 10" crescent will get in there and do the job. IMHO it just can't be real fat, it doesn't have to be skinny. A nice whack with a hammer helps loosen it up better than just a hard straight pull.

Sniper X · Post by **Sniper X** » Oct 31, 2008 10:53 AM

Thanks for all the replys I'll troubleshoot it this weekend. How much higher then the rear end do I need the front to be able to correctly bleed the system?

Brad D. · Post by **Brad D.** » Oct 31, 2008 11:15 AM

Sniper X wrote:Thanks for all the replys I'll troubleshoot it this weekend. How much higher then the rear end do I need the front to be able to correctly bleed the system?

I have never had a problem bleeding mine with it just sitting on my very slightly inclined driveway.

MyE28.com

MyE28.com

Might have to do a water pump

Might have to do a water pump

A whole set for 25 from HF includes 32mm

It will work - I used my HF 32mm to do the job on my car